Previous: E's

Back to: Short Stories

Next: G's

The Face of an Angel [10]

The Facts of Life [13]

Review by Ian Braidwood

Poor old Benjy Stephens has to deal with both parents and an elder step sister. None of them understand what he's trying to achieve and his parents don't seem able to live with each other.

As an escape from situations he just can't handle, Benjy immerses himself in his experiments with Mutaclay - a genetic equivalent of Lego crossed with astronomy, in that it is possible for amateurs to still make a useful contribution to the science.

Benjy's relationship with Mutaclay is however, more than just an escape, because Mutaclay models evolution and like any didactic toy, helps Benjy formulate his ideas about life.

Unfortuntely, Benjy's latest experiment needs stability, which the Stephens household is unlikely to provide. Can Benjy make his discovery before his home dissolves into parental chaos and will Benjy lose everything he values?

Uncliched and unsentimental.

Fans From Hell [3]

Review by Trent Walters

A mid-list author is hounded by the tortures and idiocies of fans and denigrators. Until finally, the author gets the appreciation he's been longing for from a classy joint not far off Picadilly, but quite a ways below Earth. The author reads an entire novel straight through to the unfinished ending.

The engagement is a smashing success - except for one small, forgotten detail.

Some great lines in here include "Most of all, though, he hated the fans from hell. They were the ones who liked his stuff, or pretended to, for all the wrong reasons: not because they appreciated the deftness of his prose, or the subtlety of his symbolism, or the propriety of his metaphors, or the bleak profundity of his insight into the murkier depths of he human condition, but simply because they got off on descriptions of people being messily done to death. Any descriptions of people being messily done to death would do, because they always consumed them devoid of any context, skipping the meaningful bits in between."

Fantasies of the Flesh [1]

First Paragraph of a Story [v]

The Fisherman's Child [7]

Review by Ian Braidwood

The illicite progeny of a mating between the stories of Moses and Faust, this tale tells of a baby given to the sea when her family cannot feed her.

Although unable to resist the necessity of the deed, the fisherman's remorse so consumes him that he calls upon any god to preserve the baby's life and we all know how dangerous that sort of talk is, don't we boys and girls?

Les Fleurs du Mal [30]

Review by Ian Braidwood

One of Brian's most stylish stories and one he had a lot of fun with, as will become clear.

Somebody out there has gone on a killing spree and unfortunately, he's a bit of a clever clogs. In fact, not since Iago has a smart-arse led the forces of truth and righteousness such a merry dance; and he had Shakespeare to help him.

Weighing-in for the law is Hal Watson, abetted by Charlotte Holmes. Notice that the verb in the second phrase of the last sentence is lacking its usual adjective; a clue to the type of tale we're dealing with.

Having decided that the Police aren't smart enough to appreciate the full poetic beauty of his crimes, the miscreant decides to rope in Oscar Wilde, genetic flower designer and professional dandy.

With Watson scanning the web for clues, Holmes and Wilde follow smart-arse's itinerary; trying to prevent more deaths and figuring out the who and the why.

All this leads up to a sensational denouement, which would stretch the talents of any artist.

In summary: SE7EN for laughs.

The Flowers of the Forest [8]

Review by Ian Braidwood

This is a very good example of how thinking out your worldview can bring out the unexpected and add freshness to a story; how obviously clichéd ideas can be given new life. Many clichés haven't been properly explored before being discarded.

An idea, which Brian has chosen to avoid here is the interstellar bus-stop, where people jump on a starship before getting off at the other end to have their adventure. Here Relativity rules and the starship is a generation ship; those individuals chosen to explore Quibor have to grow new legs, which they have to learn how to use planetside. This gives them plenty of time to learn a couple of local languages - neatly avoiding the need for a Babel fish - before they are able to join a local expedition into the forest.

However, all does not go well. Although Quiborian life doesn't use DNA - making our two human explorers immune to virus attack - this doesn't mean that Quiborian micro-organisms can't metabolise breakdown products from Human tissue and one of men falls dangerously ill. In order to preserve his life, he has to make a decision, which most able bodied people would find simply repulsive...

Following the Pharmers [14]

The Furniture of Life's Ambition [6]

Review by Ian Braidwood

William Morris is a brilliant genetic engineer, who discovered important techniques for controlling the activity of genes. He is however, stuck working for a food manufacturer who cares nothing for scientific revelation, as much as the next meal ticket.

Desperate to escape, he teams up with high - flying investment manager Peter Marshall and sets up his own business, producing entirely different genetic products.

When Marshall betrays William's trust, the scientist plots a particularly appropriate and ingenious revenge.

A Further Experiment in the Effects of Mesmerism [2]

The Fury That Hell Withheld [6]

Review by Ian Braidwood

This is a mixture of revenge and detective story.

When Adam Emden, foremost exponent of genetic manipulation in medicine is murdered, the perpetrators cover their tracks so well that only Emden's daughter Alexia suspects foul play. Together, she and her brother Aristide plot a gruesome and poetic revenge...

Another great story from a resurgent Mr Stableford.